Sunday 19 August 2007

Tuesday, June 13, 1950

STANDINGS
               W  L  PCT GB
Tacoma ...... 33 18 .647 —
Wenatchee ... 30 24 .556 4½
Yakima ...... 28 25 .528 6
Salem ....... 26 27 .491 8
Tri-City .... 27 29 .482 8½
Spokane ..... 26 29 .473 9
Vancouver ... 22 30 .423 11½
Victoria .... 23 33 .411 12½


TACOMA, June 13—Jim Westlake cracked three singles, scored twice and batted in two runs Tuesday night as the Yakima Bears trounced the league-leading Tacoma Tigers, 7-2, in their baseball series opener.
The Tigers were held scoreless by Bill Bradford until the eighth. Then Dick Greco, who'd fanned three times in a row, laced a triple off the centre field fence 435 distant. He came home on Dick Wenner's double.
Mel Knezovich gave up Yakima's first run in the third when he walked four men in a row. Singles by Reno Cheso, Westlake and Bill McCawley, plus a walk, brought Yakima two more in the fifth. Pete Coscarart walked, stole and counted on Westlake's sixth-inning single.
Al Jacinto walked, stole second and third and came in on Coscarart's one-baser in the eighth. In the ninth, singles by Westlake. Lou Novikoff and McCawley brought last two Yakima tallies.
Each team got nine hits, but Bradford kept Taeoma's well-spaced. Yakima got nine singles.
Yakima ....... 001 021 012—7-9-0
Tacoma ...... 000 000 020—2-9-3
Bradford and Tornay; Knezovich, Hufford (7), Loust (8) and Sheets.

KENNEWICK, June 14 [Don Becker, Herald] —The Tri-City Braves sharpened up their Wenatchee-rusted tomahawks last night to bounce back into fifth place in the Western International league race. It was the scalp of another band of warriors, the Spokane Indians, that felt the 8-4 heavy parade of the win-hungry Braves. The victory snapped a four-game losing streak, with 1370 fans on hand to ladle out the applause-sauce.
Charlie Petersen, Brave pilot will send big Mike Budnick (0-5) to the hill tonight at 7:30 to see if the once again hard-hitting Braves can break the spell and get the tall right-hander a victory. In his five losses since Budnick joined the Braves, his teammates have only been able to amass a total of five tuns.
Seeking to level the count for Spokane will be John Conant (8-5). Conant is one of the aces of the Indians staff and has a 'quick' ball that breaks off sharply.
Nick Pesut, burly Brave catcher came within an ace of joining the exclusive grand-slam club last night when he smashed a line drive over the right field fence with two aboard. Clint Cameron and Jim Warner are the only members of this fraternity this season. Cameron has a pair while Warner has one.
TERRIFIC BLOW
Pesut's gigantic blow that traveled an estimated 375 feet climaxed a roaring first inning that sent the Braves out in front from which pole position they were never headed. Losing hurler Vern Kohout got into trouble right away. Al Spaeter and Vic Buccola opened the order of business by lashing out singles. Warner and Cameron walked with Spaeter trotting in on the second free pass. Shortstop Buddy Peterson skied deep to right and Buccola came across. That set the stage for Pesut and he took over like a Broadway trouper.
There were plenty of extra base knocks in the series opener. Frank Matoh dropped one over the left field wall in the fifth for Spokane but the bags were idle at the time. It was his fourth homer of the year. The Indian outfielder also belted a double in the third and found Lee Mohr, third sacker aboard. Mohr got on base also with a pinch double.
Dick Faber, Peterson, and Neil Bryant each collected doubles for the winning Braves. Faber's came in the opening frame. Petersen got his in the fourth and Bryant teed off on one of Bob Roberts pitches in the sixth.
VICTORY NUMBER FOUR
Gene Roenspie proved he's the winningest pitcher on the Braves staff when he relieved Cy Greenlaw in the first after Greenlaw had faced but two men, walking them both. Greenlaw, who has been resting a sore arm, felt his left shoulder go dead soon after he started the game.
It was Roenspie's fourth straight victory against no losses. Tha young right hander did a yeoman job when he took over with two men on and none out by retiring the next three, with only one ball leaving the infield.
Spokane ....... 003 010 000—4- 6-1
Tri-City ........ 600 101 00x—8-10 2
Kohout, Roberts (1) and Rossi; Greenlaw, Roenspie (1) and Pesut.

VICTORIA, June 13—Wenatchee Chiefs made it six in a row and two straight over the Victoria Athletics Tuesday night, winning a wild game in the 10th inning 12 to 10.
In a game scintillating with fine fielding plays and hard hitting, the deciding hit was a soft single past third baseman Joe Kronberg.
With runners on second and third, two out and two strikes against him, Don Fracchia slapped a soft roller past third base. Victoria's shortstop Bill Dunn snared the ball and whipped it to first, only to have Fracchia and first baseman Jim Wert crash together. The ball slithered away and both runners scored.
The high-scoring contest saw each team use three pitchers.
Wenatchee was outhit 13-16 but two of the Chiefs' blows were home runs by Larry Neal and Gerry Ballard.
The collision and ensuring runs tumbled the Canadians back into the Western International league cellar last night and put Wenatchee only 4½ games behind pace-setting Tacoma.
Wenatchee ....... 003 221 020 2—12-13-2
Victoria ............ 033 011 020 0—10-16-1
Blankenship, Sciarra (6), Dahle (8) and Len Neal; Hedgecock, Jensen (5), Marshall (10) and Ronning.

VANCOUVER, B.C., June 13—Sandy Robertson of the Vancouver Capilanos held Salem to six hits and hurled his fourth straight victory Tuesday night while mates pounded out 16 hits off three pitchers to wallop the Senators 7-2 in a game before some 1,500 fans.
Vancouver was never behind after taking a two run edge in the first inning. Wayne Peterson homered for the losers.
The same teams play here Wednesday night.
Salem ........... 010 001 000—2- 6-3
Vancouver .... 220 000 30x—7-16-4
Burak, Lew (2), Valentine (8) and Beard; Robertson and Brenner.

Edo Vanni Suspended Indefinitely
[Victoria Colonist, June 14, 1950]
Outfielder Edo Vanni was suspended indefinitely yesterday by the Western International League for what President Bob Abel termed “conduct detrimental to baseball.” Vanni’s suspension will be for a minimum of 30 days. The $100 fine levied by Manager Marty Krug still stands.
Vanni has the privilege of appealing the sentence to the W.I.L. Board of Directors or to George Trautman, head of the National Association of Minor Professional Baseball Leagues.
To the date, the Athletics have not announced what they will eventually do about Vanni’s contract. Best guess is that he will be released outright at the end of his suspension.

Kerrigan Still Top WIL Hurler
TACOMA, June 14—Even though Salem and John Tierney plastered him with his first defeat of the season Tacoma's Bob Kerrigan remained the Western International league's leading pitcher, last two Yakima tallies. league headquarters announced Tuesday.
When Kerrigan's perfect record marred, however, leaving him with a 10-1 season's performance, congestion increased at the top level.
John Marshall, Victoria righthander, rose to 7-1 by adding a pair of victories during the week while Tierney notched Nos. 10 and 11 against two setbacks to stay in strong contention for the W-I pitching leadership.
Oddly enough, two of the top bracket hurlers are now responsible for the setbacks suffered by two of the other upper crust pitchers—Kerrigan even batted home the winning run when Tacoma downed Marshall earlier in the season, then saw his own string of 10 in a row snapped by Tierney.
Thus far, Tierney and Marshall haven't been paired against one another.
Lloyd Dickey, Yakima southpaw, retained his strikeout lead with 84, but Don Ferrarese and Tom Breisinger of Wenatchee were close benind with 82 and 78 respectively. Ferrarese was also the owner of the rather dubious distinction of
having issued the largest number of walks, 84. Kerrigan was nothing short of parsimonious in the same department having given free transportation only 28 times in 101 1/3 innings.
Leaders among the winners of four or more games through Monday. June 12:
                     W L SO  Pct.
Kerrigan, Tac. .... 10 1 35 .909
Marshall, Vic. ..... 7 1 55 .875
Tierney, Sal ...... 11 2 47 .846
Knezovich, Tac. .... 5 2 27 .714
Ragni, Wen. ........ 7 3 65 .700
Loust, Tac. ........ 7 3 21 .700
Ferrarese, Wen. .... 7 4 82 .688
Stone, Tac. ........ 6 3 26 .667
Greenlaw, Tac. ..... 4 2 20 .667
Hedgecock, Vic. .... 5 3 30 .625
Larner, Yak. ....... 6 4 47 .600
Rockey, Spok. ...... 6 4 43 .600


ON THE INSIDE
By DON BECKER, Herald Sports Editor
[from column of June 14/50]

Lots of muttering going on in the byways of the Willy league these days. Up in Wenatchee they say a group of fans are already sharpening their axe for player-manager Tommy Thompson's scalp. Although the ex-major leaguer has brought the Chiefs up to second in the current standings this group doesn't like the antics of Thompson during a game.
His continued beefs with the umpires they say, is hurting the reputation of the club, but more than that, his example is breeding more of the same among some of the players This critical group says that Thompson's many arguments has changed two former even tempered players into thin edged ones. Well, if they try to unseat Tommy they're going to need a sharp axe. He's doing a terrific job in keeping his club tight in the race.
Another story, and no rumor this one, comes from Vancouver, B.C. Sportswrlters up there are saying that the Tri-City Braves are dead ducks at the gate here. That's no secret of course. But they add that the final result will be the folding of the club because of lack of patronage. It was this situation plus a similar one over at Salem that got the story of the two teams moving to Canada started. But as you know there was no foundation for the story then. . .and there isn't today. It's the dead duck.

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